


Pride 2020 at Riverside

by Hikaru Yuy (hikaruyuy)



Series: Operation: Parenting [14]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: 2020 Gundam Wing Pride, Coming Out, Gay Pride, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, LGBTQ Themes, Multi, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, free dad hugs, religion-based homophobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:33:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25042456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hikaruyuy/pseuds/Hikaru%20Yuy
Summary: Every year at Riverside Park, there is the Pride parade. In years past Aiden Yuy never bothered participating, mostly because he was struggling to come to terms with himself. In coming to terms with himself, he ends up inspiring his father to do more to show his support, not just for his son, but for the LGBT+ community in Port.
Relationships: Duo Maxwell/Relena Peacecraft/Heero Yuy
Series: Operation: Parenting [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1206309
Kudos: 3
Collections: 2020 Gundam Wing Pride Event





	1. Live Your Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aiden knew he shouldn't be nervous. This was his dad he was coming out to. But when a good chunk of his friends came out and received resistance or worse to the idea that their child was Not Straight, it made Aiden want to stay in the closet. The thought of his dad no longer loving him was too much for him to bear. What Aiden should've known was that there wasn't anything in the Earth Sphere that would ever cause his father to stop loving him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The initial INITIAL idea that I had for my Pride event fic was an unfinished version of this fic where it explains how Heero ends up giving out free hugs. The two ideas were great on their own, but together (Aiden coming out in a flashback) they just didn't feel right, like neither thing was given the attention it deserved. So I'd scrapped this and wrote what became Hugs Can't Fix Things. I then decided, because something like Aiden's coming out story needed to be told, to dust off the scrapped one shot, and turn it into something.
> 
> This chapter does mention homophobia, religion-based homophobia, and abuse (physical and verbal).

Deep breath.

 _Just knock on the door_ , Aiden thought. The steel reinforced mahogany door stood between him and his father. Normally the 12 year old wouldn’t be this nervous, not when talking to his dad. It was his _dad_. His kind-hearted yet incredibly intimidating looking dad who went to PTA meetings once a month in between Preventers meetings. The man who helped with homework when he knew the material and helped look things up on Google when he didn’t. The man who somehow finished 12 years’ worth of schooling and earned the title ‘doctor’ just to prove all the naysayers wrong.

Aiden was scared that what he needed to tell his father would cause his father to stop loving him. Aiden had seen it before with different classmates. Reactions ranging from “it’s just a phase” to confusion to “you’re not my daughter, my daughter would never chase after girls”. Whispers in the halls would lead to morning assemblies where the dean of the school talked about how the doctrine the school followed viewed same sex attraction as sinful, and that those who partake in it were destined for hell. Hell, Uncle Duo had always said, was a place for people who did heinous things. Things like murder. Mass genocide. Razing a church and everyone inside to the ground without giving any quarter.

Aiden loved another boy. Did that make him a bad person? The dean made it sound like he was a monster tempted by demons to stray towards a path of sin. Both his dad and Uncle Duo said that the teachings of Saint Dismas were meaningless, leftovers from a period of time that didn’t matter anymore, a time where religion was relevant. The dean didn’t even seem to believe the very words she was reading from the sheet of paper on the podium she stood behind.

His dad didn’t believe in any of the things the school did. But that didn’t mean being what he was was okay in his father’s eyes. And to lose his father’s love was a thought that Aiden couldn’t bear. His knuckles hovered over the door, his hand shaking slightly as he thought his options over again and again in his mind. He could come out to his dad, tell him he was in love with a boy and that this boy loved him back. That was the easy part. The hard part was figuring out whether he would still be allowed to come home. Whether his father would consider him a Yuy still.

Aiden swallowed, wiped the sweat from his brow, and knocked.

* * *

Three knocks sounded against the door of his office. Heero stopped mid-typing, knowing that if one of his kids was knocking on his door during work hours, it had to be pretty important, something that absolutely couldn’t wait until he’d punched out. Swiveling around in his desk chair, he pressed the button hidden under his desk and said, “Come in.”

The door creaked open and on the other side was Aiden, looking absolutely distraught. His fingers toyed with the string of his hoodie as he stepped into the room and let the door shut behind him. The clicking of the automatic lock sounded deafening in the otherwise quiet room, and Aiden started at it.

Heero’s brow furrowed, his paternal sense tingling. He didn’t have to look very hard to see that behind his son’s blue eyes was a storm brewing, all sorts of emotions clashing against each other.

Heero made sure his voice was soft. He leaned forward in his seat so that he was more on Aiden’s level, and also showing that he wanted to be involved in whatever Aiden wanted to discuss.

“What’s wrong?”

Aiden said nothing at first, finding his shoes to be the most interesting thing in the entire space. Heero watched him chew his lip, heard him take a deep breath more than once. Whatever Aiden wanted to talk to him about, it was big.

“Ei-chan…” Heero moved the desk chair closer. He said nothing as he pulled the headset away from his ears and off his head entirely before leaving the conference call with the press of a button. He wasn’t missing much anyway, and besides, his child being in distress warranted more attention than discussions over reports and debriefs.

Aiden wiped at his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie before clearing his throat.

“Do you know… Would you be okay with...” Aiden searched for the words he wanted to use, opening his mouth to speak and then shutting it as he mentally discarded them. Finally he settled on, “You know Ethan Hashagen, right?”

Heero nodded. He didn’t personally know Ethan, but his father Hugh was a fellow Preventers agent, and a damn good one at that.

“Did something happen between you and him?” Heero knew Aiden and Ethan were good friends, practically joined at the hip like Rori and Helena.

Aiden fidgeted with the hem of his hoodie. “No, but...yes...I...I guess maybe something…”

Heero moved closer before placing his hands on Aiden’s shoulders.

“He wasn’t being an asshole to you, was he?”

Aiden shook his head. “No! No. Um.” He shuffled his feet. “He’s… I…”

Heero didn’t miss the faint splash of red tinting his 12 year old’s cheeks. 

“Then what is it?” Heero’s eyes searched Aiden’s face. “What about Ethan has you this upset?”

Aiden sniffled and squeezed his eyes shut before it tumbled out.

“I like him, Dad.”

Heero leaned back in his chair and rested his cheek against his fist.

“Oh.” Heero didn’t sound shocked in the least.

“Like, I like him like--”

Heero nodded. “I know.” He gave him a small smile. “I was wondering how long it would take you to figure it out.”

Aiden blinked. “Wait what?”

Heero looked mildly amused.

“Dad, jow did you--when did you--how did you know I was gay?”

Heero chuckled. “You’ve been talking about wanting to kiss boys since you were three, Ei-chan.” He shifted in his chair, carefully crossing one leg over the other. “You talked about marrying Jason Momoa, despite the fact that he’s married with kids.”

Aiden flushed.

“But I have a feeling you’re not upset over the revelation that you’re in love with your best friend, so… What’s really bothering you?”

Aiden stepped closer, close enough that his pant leg brushed against Heero’s.

“Ethan and me told a bunch of our friends and one of them--you remember Russell Thomas right?”

Heero nodded. Russell’s mother was a rather nondescript woman who kept to the corner of the room when PTA meetings came around every month. Heero had maybe said two words to her the entire time their children were enrolled. Russell himself was slightly more descriptive than his mother, but was quieter than a cloistered monk.

“Yeah well I guess he took me and Ethan coming out as his moment to also come out to his parents. This was yesterday.”

Heero folded his arms. “I’m guessing it didn’t go well.”

Aiden shook his head. “He came into class today with bruises, Dad.” He sniffled. “Said that his dad told him, ‘No son of mine will be an abomination, I’ll beat it out of you.’ So that made me nervous.”

Heero let his arms drop to his lap and straightened in his seat.

“Why were you nervous?”

Aiden stared at his hands.

“'Cause I thought if I told you, you’d stop loving me.”

Those words settled in the room with such a heavy weight that no child, but especially _his_ child, should ever have to bear. Heero found it unthinkable that anyone, let alone his own child, would think that in response to "I'm gay," he'd do the very thing that his stepfather would. That he would lash out instead of trying to understand. That he would say things that no one should ever be told, least of all a child who didn't understand half of what was being said. Aiden’s name came out as a whisper as Heero leaned forward and pulled his son into his arms. 

_I’m not the man my stepfather was._

“Nothing you or any of your siblings could do would ever make me stop loving you.”

_I don’t show love by hitting my kids._

He stroked Aiden’s hair as he felt the tension leave his son’s slender shoulders. Aiden fell onto Heero’s lap, his arms around Heero’s neck now.

_I don’t tell them how much I love them after screaming how much I hate them until they cry in a half assed attempt at comfort and affection._

“I didn’t wanna end up like Russ,” Aiden whispered into Heero’s shoulder. “I didn’t...I didn’t want to hear you say how much you hated me.”

Heero buried his face in Aiden’s hair.

_I could never, ever hate my kids._

“You won’t ever end up like Russ.”

In all of his years as a parent, one thing Heero could--and would--never understand was how someone could spend all those years loving a child, only to turn their back because of who they loved or who they felt they were. Was it because of all the preconceived hopes and dreams being tossed away upon hearing the words “I’m gay”? Heero never once looked at his children and decided to create their life’s story for them--that wasn’t his place. All he ever wanted for his kids was for them to live their lives, carving their own paths and finding their own happiness. If they went through life with no regrets and became strong and independent and with an appreciation for life, Heero felt that he’d done something right.

“It’s okay for boys to love boys,” Heero said. “And for girls to love girls. And to love someone who doesn’t identify as being on the binary. There's all sorts of different ways to love and no one can tell you it's wrong.”

“So then you’re okay with me and Ethan…?”

Heero nodded. “As long as you both treat each other with respect.” Heero pulled away from Aiden slightly so he could look him in the eyes.

“I want you to live your truth, Aiden.”

Aiden looked puzzled.

“What is my ‘truth’?”

Heero ruffled Aiden’s hair and gave him a small smile.

“Whatever you want it to be.”


	2. Hugs Can't Fix Things, But They Do Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heero and Duo decide to be the dads who give out free hugs to the LGBT+ youth at Pride who want and need the kind of hug only an accepting parent can give. For Duo, it’s just a nice thing to do. For Heero, it’s a lot more personal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been meaning to write this fic for a while now but really had no real need to. However due to all of the things happening in the world right now, I felt that this needed to be written and put out there, because everyone needs a hug. Even if it’s a virtual one from a fictional character.
> 
> I wrote this for the Gundam Wing Pride 2020 on Tumblr. Though I made it as part of the Operation Parenting 'verse, you don't need to have any knowledge to understand it. Now that the content embargo has been lifted, I can finally post this here.

Riverside Park was exceptionally crowded as the afternoon approached. People of all ages mingled together swapping stories and posing for selfies. Some dressed up, going all out with face paint and costumes, whereas others just arrived in normal street clothes or, in a couple of cases, work attire. Today was the day where everyone could be accepted for who they loved and what they identified as, no guilt or shame welcomed. However, once the day ended, Heero knew that some of these kids would be going home to places and people who felt nothing but shame over a piece of their identity that they couldn’t even control. 

As Heero quickly discovered, there were a lot of kids who wanted to be accepted and could only find that on days like today. Heero and Duo’s Pride booth declared on a handwritten sign that they were giving out free hugs to anyone who needed some parental acceptance--or, well, anyone who just wanted a hug. And the amount of people who came over gave Heero a lot to think about in terms of his own kids and his role as their father.

There was the girl who cried on his shoulder because all she ever wanted was her father to acknowledge the fact that she was in love with “the most beautiful girl in the world.” The young woman who asked for a hug and advice on “how do I get my parents to understand that the person I’m going to marry is non-binary, and for my grandma to stop calling them ‘that person’?” Some hugged Heero so tight that he held on for as long as they needed to, even when the line stretched a little longer than he would’ve liked, because at that moment he could very well have been the only one keeping them together.

“All I want is for my dad to love me and be proud of me.”

Duo looked over to Heero at that, to the boy in Heero’s arms who was friends with both their kids.

“We’re proud of you,” Duo said. “I know it ain’t the same, but we’re glad that you’re here.” Duo looked around at the crowd.

“Know what? Starting right now, all y’all have us as your dads. Life’s too short to have shitty parents.” A cheer rose up from everyone around as Duo went in for a group hug.

A teenaged boy with glitter sprayed liberally throughout his hair and a rainbow unicorn shirt nudged his way through the crowd and practically launched himself at Heero. Instinctively he wound his arms around the boy’s back and held him close.

“Thanks,” the boy said. Whenever he moved, glitter fell onto the shoulders of his shirt, causing everything to sparkle in the sunlight.

“For what?”

“For being my dad.”

“You didn’t have a choice in the matter,” Heero said, pulling away enough so he could look into his eldest son’s face.

“Neither do all those people you hugged today,” Aiden said. “They couldn’t choose either.”

“You got lucky,” Heero said. “You don’t want to know what happens when you’re not.”

“I’ve read the statistics, Dad. I know what happens.”

“Duo and I do this,” Heero said, gesturing to the FREE HUGS shirt he was wearing, “to try and put an end to that. It’s not just about the hugs. Hugs can’t fix things.” Heero pulled Aiden in for another hug.

“They sure do help,” Heero murmured into his son’s hair, not caring that he would have a whole bunch of glitter to clean off when he got home later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not everyone is lucky like I am to have family and friends who are supportive of their sexual orientation and gender identity. So many of them wondered why their parents suddenly hated them just because they loved boys instead of girls. I know people who died because of the rejection.
> 
> All of the children Heero and Duo hug in my fic, those stories are ones I've personally encountered either myself or from those friends.
> 
> I needed to write this fic. Others needed to read this fic. I have no regrets whatsoever.


	3. Essential Oils Can't Fix Everything, But They Can Give Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place directly after Hugs Can't Fix Everything. Heero and Duo help out at a buddy's table, only to encounter someone who has a major problem...and it's not an easy one for anyone to fix. Essential oils can banish stress, but can they also banish homophobia?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to be my submission for the Gundam Wing Pride event...but I felt like it didn't fit the mood of the event at all, so I ended up writing something else (Hugs Can't Fix Everything) instead. I kept this though, because I knew when the content embargo lifted, I would end up posting this after finishing and heavily editing it so it was presentable.
> 
> We all know that one person who treats essential oils like they're the cure for cancer. This is to show how ridiculous that one person in our lives is.

“Excuse me…”

Riverside Park was absolutely packed with people on this beautiful but disgustingly hot and humid day. Rainbow decor such as shimmering streamers that reflected beautifully in the sunlight hung from utility poles and tree branches. Flags representing as many identities as possible hung from poles set up specifically for Pride. Many a booth and food stall peddling different wares and cuisines were set up along the sidewalks and, where sidewalks weren’t available, out in the roads, which were closed to vehicular traffic. Heero and Duo were helping man Raine Virolainen’s booths not too far from the Delaware River information board, their sign declaring in (admittedly not great English) _NO FAB? GET HELP._ Heero sat at the table with his arms covering his FREE DAD HUGS shirt, watching the groups of people wander past. Duo chatted with a group of Queens performing later at the parade not too far from the table. Heero heard a remark about Duo’s holographic PROUD BI DAD shirt.

Heero looked up at the intrusion to find a rather out of place looking woman who couldn’t have been younger than mid-forties; despite the 90 degree weather, she donned a mink fur hat that did nothing to hide her faded blonde hair that was in desperate need of a perm job. Her eyes darted around nervously, one hand in her purse that was an obvious home shopping network binge purchase, the other gripping it tightly towards the opening by the handles. Heero cocked an eyebrow.

“Can I help you?”

The woman seemed startled when he spoke. Was she expecting him to communicate via telepathy or something?

“Well--” she hesitated, as if trying to find the right words to say. “I’m a mom,” she continued, with a sort of nervous chuckle. “My son is having a bit of a... _problem_ , if you will, and I was wondering if you had something to solve it.”

On the table in front of Heero was a display of various coloured spray bottles, each with labels in different languages. Most of them were just water mixed with body safe glitter for those who wanted a bit more fabulous sparkle in their lives, but a few in particular were reserved for those who wanted to cause some trouble. Duo already had to use the _koiran kakka_ one on this one man carrying a sign saying everyone at the event was damned to hell, and someone getting a little _too_ friendly with a group of Kings got a mouthful of _kana paskaa_. At the front of the table was a chart detailing which ones were what. So far the chart had largely gone unread by those who really ought to have done so.

“Greetings!” Duo said, as he walked back over to the table, his hair falling from the hastily pulled back bun. “I couldn’t help but overhear that there’s a problem you need a fix for.”

The woman nodded.

“Is your son not fabulous enough?” Duo asked, as he feigned surprise. “Not a problem, no problem at all!” Duo gestured to the bottles on the table.

“Ain’t a problem Duo Maxwell can’t solve!”

Heero snorted. The woman looked sceptical, and Heero couldn’t blame her. He sounded like he was peddling snake oil after all.

“We’ve got a nifty little chart right there telling you which sprays will help him completely flourish!” He grinned. “Like a flower blooms when given the right nutrients, your son will spread his petals and--”

“Perhaps you misunderstand my problem,” the woman said, as she gave Duo a look somewhere in between horrified and confused. “I don’t want my son to ‘flourish’. You know, maybe you’re the--the wrong person for me to ask about this sort of thing.”

Duo blinked. “Wrong person?”

She gestured at the rainbow face paint on his cheeks that was spread like war paint, the 30 pounds of body glitter that made him shine brighter than both diamonds and Edward Cullen combined. Heero wasn’t sure why that was even a problem.

“Maybe it’s something your friend can help me with here?” She turned to Heero. “You seem reasonable.”

It wouldn’t be the first time someone picked him over Duo as the ‘voice of reason’.

“What exactly _is_ the problem?” Heero sat up a little straighter in his seat, but not by much. “You said a lot, but nothing of use to either of us.”

Duo sat down on the edge of the table. “Inquiring minds would like to know.”

The woman sighed, as if their inability to read her mind was just so _exasperating_.

“So Debbie from the PTA told me that certain essential oils can, you know, change your orientation.”

Duo covered his mouth with his hand so that he looked like he was hanging on every word she spoke, but really he was covering up the fact that he was trying real hard to not burst out laughing. Heero managed to keep a straight face.

“Lemongrass and eucalyptus turn you straight, lavender and rose turns you gay…”

Heero only had the tiniest bit of knowledge when it came to essential oils--Relena was huge into aromatherapy and had many a shopping spree at Bath and Body Works to seize sales on those products--but he _did_ know that no matter how much oil, whether scented or otherwise, you rubbed on yourself, it didn’t change anything about a person...except make them incredibly slippery.

“My _problem_ is that no matter how much lemongrass and eucalyptus oils I give him, he won’t stop finding men attractive. Do you have an oil that will help with that?”

Heero gave Duo a look, which Duo returned with a wink; Duo gave the woman the ‘one moment’ gesture as he sat down behind the table and reached under to pull out a box.

“I don’t got nothing to help with your son’s, uh, ‘problem’--” Duo made some very obvious air quotes there. “--because the problem isn’t with him, but with _you_!” He dropped the box onto the table top and rummaged through it.

“And what problem is it that I have?”

“Well…” Duo gave her an appraising look as he rubbed his chin. Even Heero was impressed with how hard he was selling this persona. “You need an oil that gives you a different kind of vibe. A vibe check, if you will. And boy are your vibes all wrong for this sort of thing.”

The woman looked appalled. “The wrong vibes? But how can that be? I use rosemary and jasmine oils everyday around my son, and it’s not helping anything.”

Duo placed a bottle labelled _kissan virtsa_ in front of her. She looked at him, her eyes filled with distrust.

“What does _that_ contain?”

Duo grinned. “Imported directly from Finland, it’s got the purest of birchwood mixed in with some patchouli and a special ingredient that not even I know.” He leaned back on his seat. “Ain’t nothing like it in this country. It’s yours, on the house since I can tell that you’re a desperate woman in need of some...guidance.”

The woman hesitated, casting a glance at Heero’s look of indifference and Duo’s wide grin before she grabbed the bottle and spritzed it on herself. She sniffed at the air for a little bit, and gave a little cough.

“It sure is...strong.” Another whiff. “Is that...ammonia I smell?”

Duo shook his head with such vigour. “Absolutely not! No chemicals whatsoever, this is ESDA certified!”

Another spritz.

“The stronger the smell, the better the vibes, darlin’. Don’t be surprised if people stop and stare, they’ll just be taken aback by how positive your energy field is.”

“And this will help my son out?”

Duo shrugged. “I mean, if you keep spritzing that several times a day for, oh, about a month? Yeah, it’ll probably tell your son all he needs to know.”

As the woman walked away with her newfound oil, Duo said to Heero, “She didn’t look at any of the signs, did she?”

Heero shook his head. “No. Why would she?”

Duo chuckled. “Hope she’s not wondering why everyone’s looking at her with disgust or something. She just sprayed herself with all natural cat piss, fresh from Raine’s cat this morning, in fact.”

The sign the woman neglected to read: _Anyone who smells like the following is to be avoided at all costs as they are not LGBT+ allies. Cat urine, dog feces, wet dog, tepid bath water with some “extra” thrown in._


End file.
